New Ulm weekly review., 1887-09-14

= 4O u1OGHGI VI a. INOGstU10 e sdIIllys
Julian Ralph in the Philadelphia
Press pays a glowing and deserved
tribute to the good lady who is the
widow OF William III. Vanderbilt and
mother OF a notable family. She is,
he says, one of the 'tplain everyday
little woman OF the kind men of sense
most admire, OF the kind that sup
plies the world with good mothers and
wives-one of those quiet, modest
Iadyilke bodies that one sees SO many
thousands Of in the big cities without
really noting them unless a second
glance reveals the genteel plainness OF
their attire, the trimness Of
their figures and the almost shy
preoccupation of their minds.
Yet, if one lived in an age of
marvels, or of brigands, and this un-
impressive little figure was stolen from
the city and held for ransom, she
could bring her captors $25, 100000
aye, four times as much, and without
impoverishing her family. For, as
she was pointed out to me. was told
she was Mrs. William II. Vanderbilt,
relict Of the man who when he lived
| was the richest man on Garth. And
yet she wore no diamonds, showed no
CLINT of gold or silver from head to
feet, and she was walking-like the
rest Of u.s." OF the sons and daughters
who rise up to call her blessed. Mr..
Ralph says further:
Her daughters are something more
than mere women, and she has help
ed them into good marriages. The
boys are all better than mere mo ney-
and apart from that. She bore Van
derbilt eight children: Margaret, now
Mrs. Eliot r. Shepard; Cornelius,
William K, Emily. now Mrs Emily
Thorne Sloane wife of the great car
pet dealer; Frederick W., Florence
Adele, now wife OF w. Nick Twom-
bley, the pushing westerner now in
charge Of some of the heavier Wander
bilt interests; Leila, who married DR.
W. Seward Webb, son OF the old fel.
ing editor, DR.. James Watson Webb,
and now head of the New York Cen.
| trail parlor car company, and George
w., the eight child and fourth son.
Not girl has married what, in Eng
| land, is called an "aristocrat," al. idler.
| Every man-jack OF their husbands
| made his way in the world before
| he married a Vanderbilt The boys
also took care OF themselves. The
two elder sons, Cornelius and
William K, want to enter public life
try to imagine the commodore or
William Fl. harboring such a thought.
| il you can. They want to distinguish
themselves among and for the people.
But for the Henry George movcpent
last year one or the other would have
been nominated for mayor by the Re-
publicans; but the brothers had sense
enough to see what an ugly fight that
would make. Cornelius works harder
than most very poor men. Like Pres
ident Cleveland, he cannot leave de-
tails to subordinates. He is what
you might call the head OF finance of
the Vanderbilt system, chairman OF
! the board of directors of the Central
and Harlem, and deep in responsible
| ty on the other lines He is forty
years old and worth about $75,O0O,-
600. When he was boy his father
got him a clerkship in the Shoe and
Leather bank. He refused a tour OF
Europe then because it would take
him from his desk, and ne is just as
assiduous now. so much so that his
friends fear his hurting himself. Fancy
a man worth seventy-fve millions
killing himself with work. Queer
world, isn't it?